Dahshat (1981)

Another early Ramsays effort, which, like so much of their output, takes its cue directly from Hammer’s Dracula series. The opening scenes are strongly reminiscent of Dracula: Prince of Darkness, where the village horsemen refuse to take travellers anywhere near the mist-bound basti after dark, as disturbing rumours have been circulating about the place.

Navin Nischal is returning home after a seven-year absence and, unfortunately for him, his ancestral home happens to be located right in the vicinity of the mysterious house where strange things are supposedly taking place. This sinister residence is inhabited by Dr Vishal, a full-time mad scientist with a laboratory full of live animals, which he uses for his warped experiments. These involve such wholesome scientific pursuits as strangling bats, extracting their blood, soaking things in acid, and then injecting the resulting concoctions into apes.

Dr Vishal also sports a curious black cloak and one of the worst bow ties ever seen in a horror movie, although neither offence appears serious enough to warrant arrest.

Nadira plays the Doctor’s deeply frustrated alcoholic wife, who has become thoroughly sick of her husband’s bizarre experiments and constant rejection. “You devil! You maniac! You rascal!” she rants at him repeatedly, usually without the slightest response. She strongly suspects that her husband is up to no good, but nobody appears to possess any evidence linking Vishal to the string of mysterious deaths that have plagued the region.

The Doctor is also assisted by a mute servant, or goonga, who suffers from a particularly alarming ashen complexion and wears one of Vishal’s cast-off black shrouds. The result is a fairly menacing figure who spends much of the film looking as though he has wandered in from a different and considerably more expensive horror production.

One day, in a fit of rage, Vishal’s wife injects him with one of his own deadly serums. Days later, she watches with increasing satisfaction as he begins sprouting unsightly growths from various parts of his anatomy. Slowly but surely, the gruesome plot reaches its inevitable conclusion as Vishal’s condition deteriorates to catastrophic levels.

Never mess with nature.

It doesn’t matter where you come from, what language you speak, or which religion you follow—never, ever mess with nature.  One of the Ten Commandments of Horror Cinema, that.

The make-up effects and transformation scenes are fairly hopeless, but what elevates Dahshat above the garbage pail is the magnificent performance by Om Shivpuri as the increasingly deranged Dr Vishal. The manic expressions, bewilderment, twitching, and frothing rages are brilliantly portrayed by a master character actor who remains one of the most underrated performers of his era.

Shivpuri single-handedly transforms what could have been a rather mediocre exercise in predictable tedium into something genuinely compelling. Alas, the film remains burdened by the inevitable song sequences and the woeful comedy efforts supplied by Narendranath, both of which slow the pace whenever the film threatens to build momentum.

Shivpuri and, to a lesser extent, Nadira walk away with most of the acting honours. Sarika screams effectively when called upon, while Navin Nischal would go on to establish himself as a familiar face on the horror circuit for the next couple of decades.

Ultimately, it is Om Shivpuri’s tour de force, supported admirably by Nadira, that makes Dahshat well worth watching. The Ramsays also deserve considerable credit for something they did not always manage. Unlike many of their later efforts, they have not allowed the comedy and song-and-dance routines to completely overwhelm the horror.

At least this time, they have their priorities right.

There is more emphasis on horror and less on padding, which makes a refreshing change. Dahshat remains a commendable effort from the Ramsay House of Horror and is elevated considerably by a sensational performance from Om Shivpuri.

Without him, it would probably be just another forgettable mad-scientist programmer.

With him, it becomes something rather more memorable.